The metro area is home to a plethora of Middle Eastern restaurants, and there are plenty of Middle Eastern-style foods found on other restaurant menus, too.

Shawarma, for example, roasted meat or chicken seasoned with a variety of spices and served with a garlicky sauce, is a Middle Eastern staple.

One of the most popular menu items at Livernois Tap in Ferndale is Shawarma Chicken Wings. The wings were described as one of the smartest items on the menu as Livernois Tap garnered the No. 8 spot on the Detroit Free Press' list of the Top 10 new restaurants.

On Wednesday Livernois Tap was the featured restaurant in the Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers' popular Top 10 Takeover dining series.

A version of Livernois Tap’s Chicken Shawarma was on the menu for the dining event, but I got the inside scoop (see video) on how the chefs make their Shawarma Chicken Wings.
Sous chef Moses Fishman is one of the chefs behind Livernois Tap's Shawarma Wings.
Fishman said he came up with the idea while he and others were working on the Livernois Tap menu. They couldn’t cook because their kitchen wasn’t built yet, so they ordered out a lot. One of the places they ordered from was Anita’s Kitchen Lebanese Café and Marketplace in Ferndale.

“Anita’s has great shawarma," Fishman said. We kind of put two and two together and thought, 'What about a shawarma wing?' ” Fishman said.

These wings shine in flavor and tenderness because they're marinated in a highly spiced Greek yogurt. The yogurt is the tenderizer and it's also tangy; spices amp up the flavor.

Whole cumin seed and black peppercorns are in the spice mixture, and these are toasted before being ground and mixed with the other spices. Toasting the cumin seeds and peppercorns for a few minutes in a skillet, intensifies their flavor. Once toasted, the whole spices are ground in a spice grinder.

No grinder? No problem. Place the whole spices on a clean work surface and use a heavy skillet or pot to press down on them with a rocking motion. You will need to put a bit of muscle into this.

Once you have the spices together, all but 2 tablespoons are mixed with the Greek yogurt to use for marinating. Place wings in a bowl and thoroughly mix with the marinade. After the wings are marinated, they are baked off in a 300-degree oven for about 1 ½ hours, or until cooked through and tender. The wings are finished off with a sprinkling of the reserved spice mixture and several minutes on the grill to give them a smoky flavor.

You can serve these wings as an appetizer or main dish. At Livernois Tap, they are served with Toum, a classic Lebanese garlic sauce. The chefs serve the wings with slices of pickle and pickled turnip.

Finally, a note about grinding spices. If you plan on grinding your spices often, you might want to invest in a spice grinder. At home, I use a coffee grinder. (I have two grinders — one for coffee beans and one for spices. Having two means there’s no need to worry about cumin-scented coffee.) If you only have one coffee grinder, here’s how to clean it.

Shake out as much of the spice as possible.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of uncooked rice to the grinder.

Pulse about 30 seconds so the rice gets almost powdery.

Dump out and discard the rice.

Use a slightly damp paper towel to wipe out the grinder.

To serve the wings, place them on plate in a pile. Garnish with a sprinkling of curly parsley and salt. And if you want to get fancy, place a generous dollop of the garlic sauce next to the wings and run the back of spoon through the sauce to spread it out.

Clean your wings and place them in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a small skillet, toast the cumin seed and black peppercorns over medium heat while constantly stirring. You should see smoke wisps after about 5-6 minutes of toasting. Remove the seeds and pour on to a plate to cool. Once cool, grind these spices to a powder in a spice grinder. Place in bowl and mix with the paprika, turmeric, garlic powder, salt and cinnamon.
Once you have your spice mixture, remove and reserve 2 tablespoons. Mix the remaining spices with the Greek yogurt. Add the spiced yogurt mixture to the chicken and toss chicken until evenly coated. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.
When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a sided baking sheet. Cover tightly with foil, sealing edges. Bake for 1 ½ hours or until the chicken wings are very tender and cooked through. Cool and then refrigerator until ready to serve.
At serving time, preheat the grill for medium-hot heat. Sprinkle the wings with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the spice rub. Grill about 6-7 minutes or until the wings are crisp and have nice grill marks. Place wings on a serving plate and sprinkle with a few pinches of salt and parsley. Serve with your favorite pickles and a few dollop s of toum.